“It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita. Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv were themselves the victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as gods.” (page 39)
“When Vishnu asked Brahma to commit a sin, he immediately did so. How can such a ‘evil Brahma’ be a Creator of this Universe? How is it possible for both the sinner and the entity which provoked the sin to be gods?” (page 39)
“God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping ‘f’alse gods’ that believe in the pleasures of illicit ‘vyabhichari’ relationships.” (Page 39)[Seriously Sandeep » Burden of the Cross: My Op-ed in Pioneer]
Those are quotes from a nefarious pamphlet distributed by an evangelist organization called New Life in Karnataka. Their goal – convert people to Christianity by denigrating Hindu gods and goddesses.
Though conversions have been going on for 2000 years since the time of Paul, for Indians one of the biggest challenges happened during the British rule. This was a time when evangelicals openly treated Hinduism with condescension.
In 1792 from Charles Grant, a British politician and Evangelical, proposed English education instead of Indian vernaculars mainly as a way to undermine what he called the Hindu fabric of error. Introduction of English, he reasoned, would show Hindus how absurd their religion was and dispel many of their myths. The spread of English arts, science and philosophy, along with the spread of Christianity, according to Mr. Grant, would enable the Indian people to rise to the level of human beings.
Initially the East India Company maintained a policy of religious neutrality even denying permission to missionaries to work in the country. When the charter of the East India Company came for renewal before the Parliament in 1813, the Evangelicals, including Zachary Macaulay, father of Thomas Macaulay, had become influential as to add a provision allowing missionaries to enter the country legally, as well as provide public funding for Indian education.
Trevelyan, Thomas Macaulay’s brother-in-law, was sure that English education would bring the end of the idolatrous religion of India since Hinduism was not a religion which would bear examination. All that was needed, according to him, was to prove that the world did not rest on the back of a tortoise or is it composed of concentric circles of wine, cake and milk and the religion would be gone. The enlightened natives would need a religion and they would go for Christianity.
One such gentleman, a Professor of Philosophy from Poland named Krezenski came to meet Gandhji on January 2, 1937. Prof. Krezenski told Gandhiji that Catholicism is the only true religion and if he converted he would be as great as St. Francis. Gandhiji had a simple question: why can’t a poor Hindu be St. Francis?
The reason is that both religions are not equal. In the market place of monotheism, there may be tolerance for other religions, but they do not believe that all religions are equal. They sincerely believe, since the days of Akhenaten, that there is only one way — their way — and that is the correct way. It then becomes their moral responsibility to show the heathens the correct way.
The correct way is shown by denigrating what is held sacred by the vast majority of the population following examples set by Saudi Arabian school texts and Taliban madrassas. Fed up with the missionary material, Gandhiji wrote
The outward condition has perhaps changed but the inward mostly remains. Vilification of Hindu religion, though subdued, is there. If there was a radical change in the missionaries’ outlook, would Murdoch’s books be allowed to be sold in mission depots? Are those books prohibited by missionary societies? There is nothing but vilification of Hinduism in those books. [Vol 67]
Swami Vivekananda wrote to the Hindus of Madras from United States
What is meant by those pictures in the school-books for children where the Hindu mother is painted as throwing her children to the crocodiles in the Ganga? The mother is black, but the baby is painted white, to arouse more sympathy and get more money. If all India stands up, and takes all the mud that is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and throws it up against the Western countries, it will not be doing an infinitesmal part of that which you are doing to us.”[Complete Works]
This caused Swamiji to ask a rhetorical question, “What have the Hindus done to these disciples of Christ that every Christian child is taught to call the Hindus “vile”, and “wretches”, and the most horrible devils on earth?.”
The missionary tactics have not changed since the days of Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. As Maoists mysteriously kill Hindu swamis and rape victims miraculously appear, there is little discussion on the material created and distributed by the missionaries. Their literature needs to be collected and displayed for it will expose them for what they really are: peddlers of hate in the name of a Palestinian Jew who preached love.
Just an addition, if I may. The English attempt,if there was any, can be considered largely as a failure, since there are not many Anglicans in India, we are mostly Roman Catholics. Which brings to the question whether British made a strong attempt to convert. Each ruler of the many kingdoms in India left their footprint in the form of religion, except the British.
Most Indian Christians do not agree with the methods of New Life. They prefer not to intervene with matters of other religion. Also, at least to my recollection when I attended the Sunday Cathechism classes a decade back, they did not vilify other religions.
Hi,
I guess you have read this paper–
http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/akhena.pdf
Alas! What irony. The swastika misused by Hitler wasnt, unfortunately, the first case of misinterpretation of Indian philosophy.
two comments
1. the throwning children in ganges – calcutta, story is pretty interesting – i have a blog on that coming up.
2. check this link (i found it while researching on tipu’s conversions) – interesting indeed
http://indianrationalists.blogspot.com/2007/03/conversion-controversies-n.html
What was the reason the British rule did not see much conversion in India, on the scale of what happened in south america or philipines? is it because the british were protestant?
I get curious about this now because in ‘free’ India, there is no check on groups like new life. You got to see in TN – sunday morning, and all nights, in DD tamil channel have been turned over to ‘new life’ evangelism. the current director of DD-tamil appears to have a christian name. if a little flow of dollars from america can fetch you this in ‘free’ and ‘secular’ india, it is a surprise all of india is not already christian after 300 years of british rule.
will appreciate more historical information on christianity in India during the british rule. It does appear like they didn’t try much or try at all to convert. The education policy, macaulay etc could have had more ‘secular’ reasons – you dont want your slaves to think they had a superior culture, and you want nothing more than clerks and constables from your slaves.
Kedar, I have read that paper and have book review coming up sometime next week which will use some information from it.
Dear all,
To create awareness among people, primarily Indians and PIOs and to motivate further in this area of “Christian Evangelical Terrorism” I have started a contest titled RACISM AWARENESS CONTEST. Please see my blog left hand corner. This is my small way of fighting the battle against a threat that is actually bigger than Islamic threat facing India. Christians are continually exposing Islamic Terrorism but who is going to expose the bigger cat.
I request your help in promoting this contest. I plan to hold more contests in the future of this kind on a regular basis. Please put up a small note on your web site or blogs if you can. If you think this is beyond your state policy or something like that at least spread the word through unoffical channels or word of mouth. Whatever you deem appropriate.
thanks and regards,
Kiran
In our country, all religions have existed in peace except Christianity and Islam. These people are surviving due to Congressis and similar parties. A crack of whip will ensure that Congress (I) Which really stands for Christian (Islam) lie like the sick street dog they are in a corner waiting for liberation
Ha ha for thousands of years Hindus made life miserable for the untouchables and dalits who form 50% of our population and here you are crying over a few pamphlets that denigrate your religion? What about those dalits and untouchables who were told that they were waste and made to carry waste and abused and humiliated for thousands of years? Clean your stables first pal! if conversion was such a big deal Indian would have been a Christian country now. It is not. Christians form just 3% of the population. So that just disproves all this rubbish.
KN, If conversion is not such a big thing then why are Christian Missionaries, the only religious group to shout when an anti-conversion bill is passed? Second, you mentioned about the caste system and asked Hindus to clean the stables. Slowly, that is happening. But I have one question. Why do Dalit Christians exist? Hinduism has a legacy of caste system. What’s you excuse?
KN… Untouchables and Dalits are rising and will rise to the right place as they become more aware about Hinduism. You should worry about yourself and the 3% perpetual sinners
The Christian faith is based on the belief that the Bible is indeed the word of god. If the Bible cannot be shown to be inspired, then the Christian faith could be said to be false and no more than a farce. If the Bible cannot be shown to be inspired, then Christianity can be said to be the same as any other religion that has been devised and practiced by man.
The Bible story of Jesus is a contradictory and confusing account. The Bible shows that this Jesus fellow spoke and taught many absurd and foolish things, and often believed he was having a conversation with devils. If one will read the entire Bible, one will find tales of ignorance, murder, sexual perversions, mass insanity, idiotic laws, and even cannibalism and human sacrifice. It staggers the imagination how anyone in his right mind could read the Bible and believe that it was written by a wise, just, and loving god. Christians have found biblical scriptures telling them to burn people at the stake, to justify slavery, to oppress and persecute others, and to kill and commit war in the name of their god. Unfortunately, there are some even today who would have us return to the teachings and laws found in the Bible.